Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said he will be working as a doctor one day per week for the duration of the coronavirus emergency.
Mr Varadkar, who qualified as a GP in 2010, revealed on Sunday that he had re-joined the medical register in March and is setting aside one day per week to help with the fight against Covid-19.
Speaking in Dublin today, he said: "So far it has just been a telephone clinic. We will see how it goes but the idea is to set one session aside per week to do that. It is a gesture of support for all of the people who work in our health service and everyone beyond our health service who are contributing to our health service."
Mr Varadkar said the weekly sessions would also give him first-hand experience of the pressures facing the Republic's health service during the pandemic.
"It also gives me a chance to take the temperature of our health service and to talk at least once a week to people who are working in the health service, see how things are going and to see what challenges they are facing," he said.
"I won't be giving regular reports on it and there won't be any photo-ops. It will just be something I am doing quietly once a week for the duration of the emergency."
Mr Varadkar also wished British Prime Minister Boris Johnson a quick recovery from coronavirus.
"I wish him the best, I am sure he will make a recovery and I'm sure he is getting very good healthcare in the UK," he said.
"We are in touch every couple of weeks so I will send him a message later offering him by best wishes."
